Railway traffic controlling apparatus



Sept. 27, 1938. R. A. McCANN RAILWAY TRAFFIC CONTROLLING APPARA'IUS Filed March 14, 1934 mvENToR Ronald A. MQCcmn. BY Q21 HIS A TTORNEK Patented Sept. 27, 1938 UNITED STATES PATENT OFFICE RAILWAY TRAFFIC CONTROLLING APPA- RATUS Ronald A. McCann, Swissvale, Pa., assignor to The Union Switch & Signal Company, Swissvale, Pa., a corporation of Pennsylvania Application March 14, 1934, Serial No. 715,527

9 Claims. -(Cl. 2463) One feature of my invention resides in they a ,provision of means for preventing an operation 11f the device in response to a movement of the control member unless the locking is released at the time that the member ismoved. My apparatus is so arranged that if the control member is moved while the locking is effective, the device does not move automatically to a position corresponding tothat of the member when the locking becomes released, and that to effect a movement of the device under this circumstance 2 corresponding positions, the member must be 30 Charles A. Brooks, Patent No. 2,007,635, issued July 9, 1935, for Railway switch controlling apparatus. 1

I will describe four forms of apparatus embodying my invention as applied to theremote control of a power operated railway track switch governedby a manually operable control lever,-

and will then point out the novel features thereof in claims.

In the accompanying drawing, Fig. 1 illustrates diagrammatically one form of my invention. Fig. 2 illustrates an alternative arrangement employing a different type. of control lever. Fig. 3 illustrates an arrangement. of apparatus embodying my invention which is particularly 45 adapted for use when the switch .isat a considerable distance from the control lever. Fig. 4

illustrates an alternative form employing a centrally biased three-position control lever. f 1

Similar reference characters refer to similar 50 parts in each of the views.

Referring to Fig. l, the reference L designates a control member comprising'a manually operable lever having contacts closed in the normal and reverse positions, as indicated by the references n, n and r, r respectively, and other con--- when the member and the device are not in tacts closed in intermediate positions, as indicated by the references b, b and d, d respectively. The drawing includes a single line diagramrepresenting the rails of a section of track including a power-operated track switch S having an operating mechanism W controlled by lever L. Associated with lever L is apolarized storing relay P which, as here shown, is of the perma nent magnet stick type. Relay P is arranged to be energized by a momentary impulse of current as the lever L is moved through an intermediate position under conditions favorable for the operation of the track switch, and is adapted to move its contact I in one direction or the other in accordance with the relative polarity of the impulse and to maintainthe contact in its last operated position when deenergized. The operating mechanism W for the track switch as illustratedis' of themotor operated type, and is controlled by a polarized control relay WR hav ing a control circuit including the contacts of relay P and of lever L and of a locking relay. LR.v The detailed circuits for the control of relay LR have been omitted inorder to simplify the drawing, but it is to be understood that in accordance with the usual practice, relay LR is energized only when conditions are favorable for the operation of the switch by closing a circuit which as indicated in the drawing, includes a front contact of 'a detector track relay TR for the track section containingthe switch and front contacts of approach or section locking relays ES and WS governed by traffic approaching the switch. Relay TR is contro-lled'by the usual detector track circuit and becomes released to deenergize relay LR when the section containing switch 's' is occupied by a train. Relays ES and WS provide means for deenergizing relay LR when a train is approaching the switch section and maybe controlled in various ways by means well knownin the art. For example, these re-. lays may be provided with control circuits arranged like those of the approach locking relays U and U disclosed in the Allen & Brooks PatentNo. 1,929,047, issued Oct. 3, 1933, for Remote control apparatus.

The control circuit for relay WRmay be traced from one terminal B of a suitable source of energy, normal contact n or, lever L, normal or lefthand contact I of relay P, contact 2 of relay LR,

wire- 3, relay WR, wire 4, contact 5 of relay LR,

contact-n of leverL to the other terminal C of the same source of energy. When this circuit is closed, relay 'WR will be energized in the normal direction as shown.- Assume now that theoperator moves lever L to the right, while locking relay LR is energized. As the lever passes the position to close contact b, relay P will be momentarily energized in such a direction as to maintain its contact closed in the last operated position, over a circuit which may be traced from terminal B, contact I) of lever L, relay P, contact 6 of relay LR, contact I) of-lever L to terminal G iontinued rrrovement of the lever willcause contact at to be closed to complete a circuit for energizing relay P in the deverse direction to move its con; tact to the right, this circuit bein g similar to that just described except that it includes con-Q tacts d and d as is obvious from the drawing. When the movement of lever L torts, full reverse position is completed, a circuit .will be. closed from terminalB, reverse contact 1' of leveL.L,.;contact 5 of relay LR, wire 4, relay wire contact 2 of relay LR, right-hand contact Iof relay P, contact r of lever L to terminal C. Relay. WR will therefore be energized in the reverse direction and the r'everse operating circuit tor the switch' motor will: become closed. The switch operating circuit'inay betraced from terminal B; frontcontact l and reverse'polar contactflot relay armature 9 of the switch motor, reverse polar contact It} of relay circuit con troller H controlled by the s witch, field winding [2 of the switch motor to terminalC. When this -ciicuitis closed, themoto'r'will'be' 'energiaed to opera e the switch to reversepo sition, the

meter e i a i re d. b we ter I" wli i the switch completes its stroke.

If now lever' L is returned to its normal. posi- While f a R e e i ed. hs'ebevaw scribedbperations willoccur in the reverse order. Relay P is momentarily energized to its last operate'd position when contact (I and; al close, and to aposition-to moveits'contact l to the left when contacts b and b close, a; 1 whsnfr. reachesi'ts normal position, relay be energized in its normal direction; The circuit for the switch motor will then be completed, over' the normal polar contacts Band l0 relay. tocause the switch to moye to normal, the tch, motor circuit being opened at the complet on o f its" operation by, means f contact '13, which: in thisihstance is included in thelmotor' operating. circuit instead of contact H, i

Ii now' lever Li's moved to its full, reverse. positicn while'flocking relayv L3. is 'deenergjized, it is. evident that neither relay P ncr rjela y, will respond and that when the, locking'i'ijs released. so. that relay LR. again becomes energized,

Pwill remain deenergizedals longiasl'leverf L remains reversed in thefposition. to. close, s uats r, T and therefore contact I willre ain] closed, to. the left, so that the circuit. oyer contact will be open and relay. remainid'e r gized. In. order. to. now reverse. relayYVl /fR, lev Lmust be moved away from its. reyerse positing not necessarily to normal but at least far enough. to closecontacts (1, 111, and, must then be. npvq, again toits reverse position to close 'contacts t, 51

If, however,' the operator moves lever L to the intermediate position while 'ielay v is; deenen, giZed to close contacts d, d any? willv become energized automaticallyitofclo'se contact], to the right when, relay LP picks up, but thiscaseno operation of relay W12, v will ensuebecause lever. is'so arranged that contactsl d, and r, r can not beclos'ed. at thesarne Relay Wltean, however, in. this instance; be reversed by, merely e e lever L l iheintermsdi a nq ition.

751 it l rare t. Writiea he c rcuits.

controlled by lever L are symmetrical with respect to the normal and reverse positions and also with respect to the corresponding intermediate positions, it is evident that the conditions governing the control of relay WR from reverse to normal are similar to those above described in connection with its control from normal to reverse. It follows, therefore, that any. operation off lever L madewhile the, switch locking is efiective is without result, and that to control the switch after such operation, lever L must again bepperated after theplpcking has become released.

Qerta'in types of switch control levers employed in practice are so arranged that it is not con- Venient tdeqllip them. with intermediate contacts such as b. and. d, and when such levers are used,

the arrangement shown in Fig. 2 may be employed, in which thelever L is provided with a single contact 0 closed at mid-stroke in addition to the usual normal and reverse contacts. In Fig, 2, I employ a double battery arrangementfor controlling h polarized. relay WR, that is, in addition to the battery having terminals B and C, prcvidea second battery of opposite polarity as indicatedby the terminals N and C. In Fig. 2 the normal circuit for. relay WR. may be. traced from terminal B, contact n of lever L, right-hand.

contact l of. relay P, contact 2. of relay LR, wire 3, relay WR to the other terminal C of the same source 'offenergy. If lever. L is reversed while relayLR is en'ergized, a circuit will be closed mo: mentar ily at mid-stroke, which may be traced from terminal 13, contact 0, slow release relay M toterminal. 2, 0. that relay M win pick up and remain, energized for. a short time. after contact 1" is closed, to. efiect the momentary closing of rc it em mi a 13 cont ct 1 o er LL relay P, contact L4l of relay. M, contact 6 oi relay. LE. to. terminal C.- 'Itelay. P will be energized over this circuit in." such a direction as, to close s l ft ie d 9 i t sr eem a. c rcui l be s f m t m nal; N of th e o ce o energy 'co ntacts f I, and; 2, wire 3., relay. WR to h ether erminal-, Of. h a source of energy, to energizarelay WR in, the reverse di': rctig n tocause theswitch to be reversed as already described. If; now lever-L is restored while relay LBis energized, it is clearthatrelay M will again be rnomentarily energized, and that when qelest nkoile sr. Mamm a Pwill be energized by, currentfron source N to close its right: hand contact to establish the normal circuit for relayWR, InEig. 2, just. asin Fig. I-, it is clear thattheswitch controlcirouit including relay WR isnot closed; unless relay B and lever L occupy.

corresponding. positions and; that relay P is, not operateiunless, relay. LB, is energized, and there.-

fore, a movement of lever L while relay LR is,

d eners z ds. without efi t.

The arrangement of my apparatus. illustrated: in Fig. 3 is adaptedfor use.when,the switch is at leverfL merely, the usual normal and rev er sje ql si ak lt a q t ia diet on a t Referring now to Fig, 3, the normal control circuit, for. relay -Btmaxbefirac d r m. snm n L contact. at 75 2,131gss5:

lever L, reverse contact l of relay P, relay-LP; line wire 3, contact -2 of relay LR, relay WR to .1 the other terminal C of the-samesource. If, now,- lever L is reversed, the circuit for relays LPand WR will be opened but relay LP being a slow re lease relay will remain in its picked up position for a time suflicient to permit a circuit to be closed momentarily from terminal B,contact 1" of lever L, relay P, contact l5 of relay LP to terminal C. Relay P will, therefore, become =energized in its normal direction to complete the re- 3 verse control circuit from terminal N, contact =T of lever L, left-hand contact I of relay P, the winding of relay LP, wire 3, contact 2-of relay LR, relay WR to terminal C of the same source.

In Fig. 3 it will be noted that relay' P remains energized in one direction orthe'other as long as relay LR, remains energized, but it becomes deenergized due to the release of relay LP when the locking is efi'ective. If,'now, lever L is moved out of correspondence with relay P while the looking is effective and relay LP-deenergized; it is clear that when relay LR again picks up nocir-' cuit will be available'for picking up LPEand, therefore, relay P will not become energized to move its contact into correspondence withthe lever, but, on the other hand, the lever must be moved so as to bring it into correspondence with relay P in order to pick up relay LP and to permit the switch to be operated." 3 l The form of my invention illustrated in Fig. 4 employs a centrally biased-three-position lever which may be moved to momentarily closeits lefthand or right-hand contacts 17. or r to operate the switch, but which when released returns automatically to its middle position inwhich contacts c and c are closed. As will be clear from the drawing, the normal control circuit for relay WR includes contact 0 of lever L, and the lefthand contact I of relay P, but this circuit does not open when lever L is operated to momentarily close contact r to energize relay P in the reverse direction, therefore relay LP is maintained energized after the lever is operated until relay P reverses. If lever L is then released, the reverse control circuit for relay WR. from terminal N and including contact 0 and right-hand contact I will then become closed. Relay LP, therefore, as employed in the arrangement of Fig. 4, does not need to be a slow release relay, and, furthermore, the polarity of the current supplied to the control circuit for relay WR depends solely upon the position of relay P and not upon the position of the lever, in this form of my apparatus. It is clear, however, that relay P can be operated only during the time that the locking is released and relay LP is energized, and that in common with that of the other views, the apparatus of Fig. 4 operates in such a manner that any operation of lever L while the locking is effective is devoid of result. For example, if lever L is reversed while relay LP is deenergized and held reversed until relay LP picks up, relay P will then become reversed but the reverse control circuit will be open at contact 0 and relay WR. will not be operated until lever L is returned to its middle position. If lever L is returned to its middle position before relay LP picks up, no reversal of relay P will occur, and therefore in either case, the operation of the lever While relay LP is released is without effect.

Although I have herein shown and described but four forms of apparatus embodying my invention, it is understood that various changes and modifications may be made thereinwithin the: scope of the appended claims without'departing from the spirit and scope of myinven- I tiQn Q'..=,:.

Having thus described my claimis: I

1'.-'In= combination with a railway track switch, a locking relay-controlled by traffic conditions adjacent the switch, a two-position control lever, a two-position relay adapted when deenergized to remain in its last operated position, a control circuit for said relay closed momentarily as the lever is moved-fromone'position to the other for operating the'relay to a position corresponding to that which the lever is moved, a control circuitfor the switch controlled in accordance with the position of said two-position relay and including a fr'ont contact of said locking relay, and means for preventing the operation of said twoposition relay unless the movement of the control leveroccurswhen the locking relay is-ener 2. In combination with a railway track switch, a 'polarizedcontrol relay for the switch, a locking' relay for indicating when traffic conditions are favorable for operating the switch, a control circuit for the polarizedcontrol relay including a front contact of said locking relay, a two-position-relay at a remote point for controlling the invention, what I polarity-of the-current supplied to said circuit,

ually operable means is actuated when said control circuit is closed. In combination with a railway track switch,

a polarized control relay for the switch, a looking contact closed at times to indicate that traffic conditions are favorable for operating the switch, a control circuit for said relay including said locking contact, a two-position relay at a remote point for controlling the polarity of the current supplied to said circuit,'a repeating relay at said remote point included in said circuit and energized only when said locking contact is closed, and manually operable means effective only when, said repeating relay is energized for operating said two-position relay.

4. In combination with a railway traffic governing device, a polarized control relay for the device, a locking relay, a control circuit for said relay including a front contact of said locking relay, a two-position relay at a remote point for controlling the polarity of the current supplied to said circuit, manually controllable means for operating said two-position relay, and means controlled in accordance with trafiic conditions for at times preventing the operation of said twoposition relay.

5. In a centralized traffic controlling system for railroads, a track switch, a polarized control relay for governing said switch, a two-position switch control lever, having normal and reverse contacts, a locking contact controlled by trafiic conditions adjacent said switch and closed only when conditions are proper for the operation of the switch, a two-position contact mechanism having normal and reverse contacts, normal and reverse control circuits for said track switch each including corresponding contacts of said lever and said contact mechanism and eachinc luding said locking contact and the winding'of said control relay, and a polarized repeating relay con-- trolled by normal and reverse contacts of said lever and effective to move said contact mechanism into agreement with said lever only in reamines pon or to achange in the position of the. lever; curring while said ljockiha contact is, cl $ed:..

6. In a centralized traflic controlling system for a r ads. a. ack ct n. atria-ck switch ssociated with said section, a control lever, a control; irc i ner i d; in accord n e w th the, position said L v n. swi ch controlmeans onnected; to, a d; on rol ircuit an esponsive o. the otu tio of; saidl v f ntr llin the op ration of said; track switch, locking means responsive to the spe fic n tion. or sai se ion r; king,.ah u lockin ai s t h o tr means, ind catin means associated with said; lever; and governed;

er aid. o r l; c rcui f nd oat nethe l ked and unlocked condition of; said switch control; ans, ntro r gist rin moon ov ned. y said. n i at me ns-f r ree storina he ne t r lar control effectively applied to; said, control circuit by said lever, and; means governed by. saidtrol g t means; orma-intai-n n e sai control circuit open when said switch control means is ,1ocked and until said control lever is ct at nt o nsp enoe wi h: sa d ontr s-o reg-ist eringmeans when I said switch control mo hsis k d. w

7. Apparatus for the control of a movable device comprising a storing relay responsive to momentary energizationand a control member; ea h.

havingtwo positions corresponding to two posi- 39,-;tions of the device, a, locking device which at times assumes adistinctive position to indicate that conditions are favorablefor the operation of themovable devicea control;1 circuit for the-storing relay closed momentarily only if; the control g -member is moved to one position or the other when thelockioadevice occupies said distinctive pos tion. said-1 control; circuit being effective when losed to energize the: storms rel y to a p o com snonding: to that; to which the control memet-is. moved, and: a control relay for governing he movable device, controlled-in accordance with he po ition; of said. storin y- 8.:- Anparatusfor the control of a movable device comprising: a storing relay responsive to mom nta y Qnergization and a control member, each having two positions corresponding to two positions Qfifihfi device a, locking contact closed at times to indicate that conditions are favorable for the operation of; the device, means effective only it said; member is moved to one position or the otherwhen said, locking contactisclosed to cause the; relay to; move toa position corresponding to that towhichthe member-is moved, and a control circuit for the device including corresponding contacts; oi'the member and of; said relay.

9;, Apparatus; forthe control of a movable devicecornprising; a storing relayresponsive to momentary. energization and a control member, each having; two; positions; corresponding to two positions; of. the device, a locking contact, means efiectiyo only-if the member is moved to one position; or, theI other when. said locking; contact is closed; to, cause; the relay to move to a position correspOnd ng-r to; that to which the member is moved, and a control circuit closed only when the member and said: relayoccupy corresponding positions. for operatingthe device to a position corresponding to that oi saidmember.

RONALD? A. McCANN. 

